(Phys.org)—The majority of the human genome is located within the nucleus. However, there is a small but important portion of DNA located within the mitochondria. This mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) has received ...

First responders have downloaded more than 10,000 copies of a guide to commercially available, hand-portable biodetection technologies created to help them determine what they might be up against in the field. ...

University of Utah researchers ran biochemical analysis and computer simulations of a livestock virus to discover a likely and exotic mechanism to explain the replication of related viruses such as Ebola, ...

Before DNA can be transcribed into RNA, an early step in turning the genetic template into protein, the nucleus must first assemble a molecular machine called the pre-initiation complex (PIC), capable of unzipping the double ...

Using a new imaging technique, National Institutes of Health researchers have found that the biological machinery that builds DNA can insert molecules into the DNA strand that are damaged as a result of environmental ...

If you planned to sabotage a factory, a recon trip through the premises would probably be much more useful than just peeping in at the windows. Scientists looking to understand - and potentially thwart - ...

Being able to track individual biomolecules and observe them at work is every biochemist's dream. This would enable the scientists to research in detail and better understand the workings of the nanomachines ...

Paratuberculosis, also known as Johne's disease, is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP). In Austria, there is a legal obligation to report the disease. Paratuberculosis ...

Each time a human cell divides, it must first make a copy of its 46 chromosomes to serve as an instruction manual for the new cell. Normally, this process goes off without a hitch. But from time to time, the information isn't ...

From the sun, a solution: Cornell University and Weill Cornell Medical College researchers have remodeled an energy-intensive medical test – designed to detect a deadly skin cancer related to HIV infections ...

In addition to storing films, optical discs can be used to detect microorganisms, toxins, allergens and tumoral biomarkers. Blu-ray technology has allowed researchers at the Polytechnic University of Valencia ...

(Phys.org) —A key feature of certain chemicals is their ability to bind to other molecules – a property that emerged through evolution – but current chemical theory lacks the ability to design binders ...

Polymerase

A polymerase (EC 2.7.7.6/7/19/48/49) is an enzyme whose central function is associated with polymers of nucleic acids such as RNA and DNA. The primary function of a polymerase is the polymerization of new DNA or RNA against an existing DNA or RNA template in the processes of replication and transcription. In association with a cluster of other enzymes and proteins, they take nucleotides from solvent, and catalyse the synthesis of a polynucleotide sequence against a nucleotide template strand using base-pairing interactions.

It is an accident of history that the enzymes responsible for the catalytic production of other biopolymers are not also referred to as polymerases.

One particular polymerase, from the thermophilic bacterium, Thermus aquaticus (Taq) (PDB 1BGX, EC 2.7.7.7) is of vital commercial importance due to its use in the polymerase chain reaction, a widely used technique of molecular biology.